Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

High Demand Labor Sectors And College Enrollment: A Preliminary Analysis Of The Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship (Wrks), Jillian Frost

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

States have taken a variety of approaches to improving educational investment in the labor market and increasing educational attainment statewide. One such approach is the idea of target sectors – identifying high demand and high growth industries to direct business and educational investment across the state. Since 2011, the Commonwealth of Kentucky has utilized target sectors to identify high demand high wage occupations in order to drive labor force participation, employment, and educational alignment. To combat projected employee shortages in the identified target sectors and low educational attainment across the state, Kentucky launched the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship (WRKS) program …

Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Composting At The University Of Kentucky, Jennifer Sutton

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This study is a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of the University of Kentucky’s composting program. Food waste is collected from two major dining facilities on campus and composted at the university’s C. Oran Little Research Center in Woodford County. This CBA only considers the direct accounting costs of the program. Three models were developed and analyzed. Ultimately, all three models resulted in a deficit over the life of the project. However, it is important to note that benefits were likely understated because this CBA did not take into consideration the environmental or social benefits that exist from a composting program at …

The Relationship Of Self-Esteem On Pornography Viewership And Relationship Satisfaction In German Couples, Trenton Mcclure

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The Relationship of Self-Esteem on Pornography Viewership and Relationship Satisfaction in German Couples. The current study aimed to examine the relationship between husbands’ and wives’ perceptions of self-esteem and relationship satisfaction as mediated through the frequency of pornography viewership at the individual and dyadic level. Using the VSA model, this study utilized the pairfam dataset, which is a nationally representative German sample. Data from 369 participants were analyzed using three structural equation models; a combined male and female anchor model, a male only anchor model, and a female only anchor model. This current study found that males’ and females’ self-esteem …

[Review Of] Colin Milburn, Respawn: Gamers, Hackers, And Technogenic Life, Durham, Nc: Duke University Press, 2018, 301 Pp., William T. Howe

Communication Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Training Music Therapists And Music Therapy Students To Provide Trauma-Informed Care: Training Development And Pilot Feasibility Study, Mckenna B. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Adverse childhood experiences are considered a serious public health problem and can lead to complex trauma. Due to the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences in the general population, it is likely music therapists frequently treat clients who have experienced trauma; however, there appears to be no published research on music therapy training and education regarding validated trauma-informed approaches. This study examined the impact of a three-hour educational training on music therapists’ knowledge of trauma-informed care and perceptions of preparedness to practice trauma-informed music therapy. Seven training attendees chose to participate and completed a pre-test and post-test covering demographic information, knowledge, …

Development And Psychometric Properties Of The Sussex-Oxford Compassion Scales (Socs), Jenny Gu, Ruth A. Baer, Kate Cavanagh, Willem Kuyken, Clara Strauss

Psychology Faculty Publications

Compassion has received increasing societal and scientific interest in recent years. The science of compassion requires a tool that can offer valid and reliable measurement of the construct to allow examination of its causes, correlates, and consequences. The current studies developed and examined the psychometric properties of new self-report measures of compassion for others and for the self, the 20-item Sussex-Oxford Compassion for Others Scale (SOCS-O) and 20-item Sussex-Oxford Compassion for the Self Scale (SOCS-S). These were based on the theoretically and empirically supported definition of compassion as comprising five dimensions: (a) recognizing suffering, (b) understanding the universality of suffering, …

Changes In Fentanyl Demand Following Naltrexone, Morphine, And Buprenorphine In Male Rats, Lindsey R. Hammerslag, Rebecca S. Hofford, Qiwen Kang, Richard J. Kryscio, Joshua S. Beckmann, Michael T. Bardo

Psychology Faculty Publications

Background: Individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) exhibit high levels of economic demand for opioids, with high levels of consumption and relative insensitivity to changes in price. Because the medications used to treat OUD in medication-assisted therapy (MAT) act as antagonists or agonists at μ opioid receptors, they may alter the relationship between price and opioid intake.

Methods: This study examined demand for a commonly abused synthetic prescription opioid, fentanyl, in male rats following s.c. pre-treatment with naltrexone (0.1–1.0 mg/kg), morphine (0.3–3.0 mg/kg) or buprenorphine (0.3–3.0 mg/kg). We normalized demand curves to intake at the lowest price and estimated effects …

Ict Aid Flows From China To African Countries: A Communication Network Perspective, Rong Wang, François Bar, Yu Hong

Communication Faculty Publications

The challenge in evaluating China’s foreign aid has always been the unavailability of reliable data sets. This study constitutes the first analysis of the AidData data set from a communication network perspective. It examines China’s development aid to Africa in the ICT sector from 2000 to 2014. Combining data mapping, network modeling, and regression, it uncovers general trends of aid allocation, central players, and collaboration patterns among aid agencies. The results demonstrate the variability in the distribution of China’s foreign assistance to 44 African countries. In particular, African countries with less population, worse economic development, but higher oil rents are …

Balancing Transparency And Privacy In A University Sexual Misconduct Case: A Legal Public Relations Case Study, Chelsea L. Woods, Shari R. Veil

Communication Faculty Publications

In 2016, the University of Kentucky became embroiled in an open records debate with its student newspaper, The Kentucky Kernel. Following a professor’s resignation amid a sexual misconduct investigation, the Kernel asked for records pertaining to the case. The University refused, claiming the information would violate survivors’ privacy. The decision sparked public backlash, forcing the University to combat accusations that it was prioritizing reputation over student safety. This case study provides insight into the crisis management process by exploring how key actors in the case made decisions. Drawing from theoretical perspectives including stakeholder theory and the ethics of care …

Evaluating The Effects Of Meditation On Students’ With Disabilities On-Task Performance, Lauren Ashley Johnson

Theses and Dissertations--Early Childhood, Special Education, and Counselor Education

This document will address the following prompts: (a) compare and contrast A-B-A-B designs and multiple probe designs for their applications to research questions, respective strengths and weaknesses, and threats to internal validity, (b) evaluate Wilson and Dixon (2010) for rigor, risk of bias, and quality based on What Works Clearinghouse’s measures, and (c) provide a rationale for the use of meditation with students with disabilities and outline procedures a practitioner could follow to implement meditation with a student with behavioral challenges.

The Application Of The Food Safety Modernization Act’S Produce Safety Rule For Produce Auctions, Mari Schroeder

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

Produce is a high-risk commodity that is associated with numerous foodborne outbreaks each year. The Food Safety Modernization Act’s Produce Safety Rule was designed to address these issues by requiring farms that grow, harvest, package, and/or hold produce to comply with science-based minimum guidelines. However, with the revival of the local food movement there is a subsequent flux in alternative food networks that handle produce but are not covered by this rule. Produce auctions represent only a fraction of these alternative food networks but are the focus of this study because of their interaction with the Plain community whose relationship …

Piecing Together Coalition War: Threat, Politics, And Coalition Structure, Stephen Joiner

Theses and Dissertations--Political Science

Military coalitions are both a common feature of interstate warfare and an example of the highest level of cooperation between states. Despite their tremendous importance in international relations, military coalitions remain poorly understood. This project investigates critical questions related to coalition structures, and uses quantitative and qualitative methods to show that both the threat and political opportunity facing coalitions helps to determine the shape of their structures. This project utilizes a dataset of all coalition wars since 1816, as well as case studies of six coalitions to investigate these relationships. Key contributions include novel theoretical arguments and the findings that …

The Affordable Care Act And Medication-Assisted Treatment Accessibility: A Context-Inclusive Review Of Research, Jacob Blevins

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This paper provides a contextual review of research investigating associations between the health insurance reforms implemented by the Affordable Care Act and the accessibility and utilization of medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. Research indicates that relative to 2008, the year of initial Medicaid expansions in 2014 is nationally associated with increased rates of insurance coverage, increased rates of treatment, and reduced rates of individuals with opioid use disorder forgoing treatment due to financial concerns (McKenna 2017). Between the year prior to state Medicaid expansion and the third year after it, the number of specialty treatment admissions related to the …

Effective Elective? Elective Courses’ Impact On Student Performance During Associated Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences, Shelby Spencer Tungate

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Experiential education programs at colleges of pharmacy are guided by standards set forth by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE.) Exactly how these standards are met, however, is often determined by the individual college of pharmacy. This includes deciding how students are selected and placed on their fourth-year rotations, referred to as Advanced Pharmacy Practices Experiences, or “APPEs.” While it may seem that students who have taken elective courses focused on specialized topics, such as pediatrics or geriatrics, will perform better on related APPEs, this thought remains largely unfounded. Using four years of student data at the University of …

The Bluegrass Reentry Council Strategic Plan, Sydney Geiger

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The overcrowding of jails and prisons and high recidivism rates are issues America is facing nationwide. Successful reentry into society following incarceration is a solution to this crisis. In response, in 2011, the Kentucky legislature passed House Bill 463 which mandated reentry councils across the state. The purpose of the councils are to address the current issues facing citizens returning from the justice system, develop a network of resources and service providers within their home area, and communicate and advocate for returning citizens by communicating issues to the community and their leaders.1 This analysis will develop a strategic plan for …

Performance Evaluation And Community Needs Of Spay Our Strays Organization, Elizabeth Adams

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Free-roaming cat populations have been linked to public health concerns and negative impacts on animal shelter resources. Trap-neuter-return has gained popularity in the last few decades as a humane and effective approach to decrease the population of community cats and address these concerns. Spay Our Strays advocates for trap-neuter-return practices in Lexington, Kentucky, by providing services to the local community and surrounding counties. Strategic planning techniques and comparative analysis are used to develop recommended strategic actions the organization can use to improve their impact. Findings showed a need to invest in board development, diversify funding sources, focus on community-level targeting, …

Evaluating The Labor Supply And Migration Effects Of The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, William Clay Fannin

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

A growing body of literature suggests that occupational licensing distorts economic behavior through various mechanisms, such as inflating prices and inhibiting interstate mobility. To combat some of these ill-effects, policymakers have turned to interstate compacts as a way to promote uniformity in licensing requirements across states and facilitate license portability. Despite the development of interstate compacts for numerous licensed occupations and professions, evidence of their efficacy in the literature is thin. Based on data from over 70,000 physicians from 2012 to 2018, I construct a difference-in-differences model to estimate the effects of the adoption of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact …

Congressional Appropriations And Earmarks An Analysis Of The Economic And Political Effects, Paul Anthony Allen

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The effects of political characteristics on the Congressional appropriations process have remained a subject of debate in recent years. Congressionally directed spending influenced by these effects are defined as earmarks. To counter the practice of earmarking, Congress implemented multiple reforms and rules to curb the influence of partisan agendas. Total federal appropriations by year and state from 2002 – 2018 were aggregated to test the significance of the economic and political effects. This model utilized a time series fixed effects regression to determine the results that suggest select political characteristics of U.S. Senators remained significant in the distribution of federal …

Impact Of Vaccine Availability On The Number Of Children Vaccinated And Under-Five Mortality In Tanzania, Katelyn Batliner

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Stockouts have previously been reported to interrupt immunization services in low-and-middle income countries. However, there has been little research to understand the direct impact of stockouts on the number of children immunized and no research to understand the impact on under-five mortality. Using panel data from Tanzania’s Vaccine Information Management System training program, a regression model with fixed and random effects is used to analyze the effect of stockouts on the number of children immunized. The Lives Saved Tool® is used to estimate the effect of stockouts on under-five mortality. The results suggest that stockouts have a statistically significant impact …

Organic Farming And Incidence Rates Of Select Health Outcomes: An Evaluation Of The Usda Certified Organic Program, Aja Croteau

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Medical studies over the past few decades have shown increasing evidence that exposure to pesticides is associated with numerous health conditions, specifically Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, leukemia, asthma, and depression. Pesticides are widely used across the United States to ensure an affordable and bountiful food supply, but many of the chemicals used pose notable health risks. Numerous programs exist to measure and monitor pesticide exposure from agriculture, but researchers and public health experts remain uncertain of the efficacy of regulatory programs on reducing the amount of pesticide used and on protecting citizens from exposure. Organic agriculture, which uses significantly fewer pesticides than …

Inclusive Recreation In Kentucky State Parks: A Survey Of Ada Compliance And Transcendent Programing, Jason Thomas

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, disabled, or differently abled, members of American communities are entitled to receive identical, or equivalent, treatment and admission to public services, without discrimination based solely on their disability. Therefore, it is in violation of this act to not accommodate public spaces and facilities for these individuals, with the exception of cases where doing so to an existing facility would demonstrably, and with burden of proof on the agency, “result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of a program or activity or in undue financial and administrative burdens” (28 CFR § 39.150). …

A Cost Benefit Analysis Of Blupass: The University Of Kentucky's Fare Free Transit Partnership With Lextran, Sandra Broadus

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Parking is an omnipresent headache for urban-based universities across the United States. The University of Kentucky took a distinctive approach to shifting commuter mode share away from single-occupancy vehicles in 2015 by initiating a fare-free partnership with the local transit authority. This study aims to determine the relative success of this program by weighing the costs and benefits for the University over the first four years of implementation. In order to offset the limited supply of parking available for personally owned vehicles, the University of Kentucky (UK) launched BluPass, a fare-free transit initiative that aimed to significantly increase the number …

Federal Improper Payment Mandates And Their Financial Risk For State Governments, Seth Grove

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

As the recipient of billions in federal dollars, state governments are key stakeholders in combatting improper payments. While federal improper payment laws have mandated responsibility to federal agencies, states ultimately administer numerous federal programs, thus are subject to the same improper payment laws. Due to statistical sampling and extrapolation requirements in federal audits, state governments are at a tremendous financial risk for federal disallowances in administering federal programs. Federal reports and academic literature can inform state governments on improving state policies to mitigate their financial risk of federal improper payment laws.

Does State And Local Government Employment Promote Tax Revenue Stability? A Look At Kentucky Cities, William Ryan Pennington

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Research shows that public sector jobs are more stable than private sector jobs. This study examines whether tax revenue volatility is affected by the concentration of a city’s economic base in state and local government employment. The relationship between public employment and revenue volatility has not been studied but is relevant as state and local governments have reduced their workforces in the post-Great Recession period. Using panel data on Kentucky cities, I find that the coefficient on state and local government employment concentration is inversely related to tax volatility but is not statistically significant in a fixed effects estimation.

The Effect Of Disability On Unemployment Claim Duration In Kentucky And The Surrounding States, James Tatum

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The duration of unemployment insurance claims in Kentucky are over 30% longer on average than unemployment claims in the surrounding states. This study uses a time-series regression to compare data from Kentucky and the surrounding states to find correlations between unemployment insurance claim duration and the percentage of a state’s population that reports having at least one disability. No significant correlation was found between a state’s population with a disability and unemployment claim duration but there was a significant negative correlation between unemployment claim duration and the total amount of Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income payments people …

Impact Of Government Regulations And Programmatic Decisions On Demand For A Novel Contraceptive Product In Developing Countries, Matthew Westling

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Family planning and contraceptive use is becoming an area of emphasis for developing countries. The important role family planning has in the growth and development of personal wealth and the larger economy is already well understood. However, there is little information about how planning, policy, and programmatic decisions influence contraceptive consumption. Accordingly, this paper established an index which explores the weight program planning, contraceptive delivery, and national policies have on contraceptive consumption. The index was established through a factor analysis which utilized monthly indicators from the dissemination of a novel contraceptive product called Sayana Press® in twelve developing countries. Results …

The Effect Of The Earned Income Tax Credit (Eitc) On Savings: Do Low-Income Households With Multiple Children Save More Eitc Money?, Vinh Dao

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

EITC provides monetary assistance to lower-income families with children, and it has expanded to become the largest cash-transfer program in the United States. Understanding how EITC affects savings is crucial, since they are closely linked to financial stability of millions of American families. Do these families put the tax credit in their savings accounts, or do they just spend it? To tackle this question, this paper examines the effects of an increase in EITC’s generosity in 2009 on investment income of eligible households with 3 children. I perform a difference-in-differences using 2005-2014 CPS data and find no statistical evidence of …

The Effects Of State Tax Reform On Tax Revenue Volatility, Ryan Brown

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Recent literature has established that state tax revenues have grown significantly more volatile relative to previous decades. Consequently, this is a growing concern for state policymakers who increasingly need stable revenue sources to meet spending obligations. In this paper, the consequences of comprehensive state tax reforms on subsequent tax revenue volatility are studied using the reforms of Utah (2007) and North Carolina (2013) as case studies. Using a synthetic control methodology, graphical evidence suggests that North Carolina’s tax reform resulted in lower subsequent revenue volatility, but that Utah’s reform likely did not have such an effect on revenue volatility.

Acute Sensitivity And Tolerance To Alcohol As Predictors Of At-Risk Drinking, Holley Allen

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Laboratory studies have reliably shown that reduced sensitivity to alcohol’s subjective intoxicating effect is associated with heavier drinking. More recently, there has been research to suggest that heightened sensitivity to the disinhibiting effects of alcohol might also contribute to at-risk drinking. Most research on the acute effects of alcohol has focused on drinking magnitudes averaged across participants with little attention to how individual differences influence abuse potential. This study overcomes previous limitations by testing the degree to which individual differences in acute sensitivity and tolerance to the subjective intoxicating and disinhibiting effects of alcohol predict drinking behavior in a large …

Mental Contamination, Coping, And Ptsd Symptom Severity Following Sexual Trauma, Jordyn M. Tipsword

Theses and Dissertations--Psychology

Mental contamination (MC) – an internal sense of dirtiness experienced without contact with a contaminant – has been linked to PTSD symptoms among sexual trauma survivors. However, existing work has been limited to cross-sectional or quasi-experimental designs – precluding conclusions concerning the directionality of associations among PTSD symptoms and MC – and little work has examined potential mediators of those associations. The present study utilized a prospective design to evaluate the directionality of associations between MC and PTSD symptoms and the role of avoidance and approach coping in mediating those associations. Participants included 41 women with a history of sexual …